Two Friends And Cranes Comparison

“We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves” once said Barbara Jordan, an important leader in the civil rights movement. The stories “Two Friends” and “Cranes” show how this quote applies in difficult scenarios. The story “Two Friends”, written by Guy de Maupassant, is focused around two friends from Paris who cross enemy lines during the French-Prussian War to go fishing, which results in both of their deaths. The story “Cranes”, written by Hwang Sunwon, is centered around a man named Songsam during the Korean War who struggles with deciding to let his childhood friend, Tokchae, go free after being captured. These two stories can be compared but also contrasted. The stories “Two Friends” and “Cranes” are both similar because of the stories settings, but also different because of the outcome of the stories and the conflict that the characters deal with.
During 1871 in France, “Paris was under siege, in the grasp of famine, at its last gasp” (Maupassant 1). France is at war with the Prussians and is struggling to survive. Similar to Korea during the time of the Korean war how the two countries are both very war torn. The introduction of “Cranes” states that “This story takes place during the Korean war, a conflict that pitted friend against friend and even brother against brother” (Sunwon i). The North and South are engaged in a major conflict that has destroyed large parts of the country. Both France and Korea have experienced much destruction of their land that has caused turmoil between people in those areas. Both of these stories take place in war-torn environments that have caused the civilians living in these areas many